Miss Universe Is Fixed By Donald Trump: Choreographer

According to a new interview with the Miss Universe choreographer, Donald Trump fixed part of the pageant to ensure that the prettiest girls make it through.

In a lengthy interview with guanabee, choreographer Michael Schwandt tells how Trump, who owns the pageant, lines up all the contestants before the competition and hand picks six of the finalists, before any judging takes place.

"At all the shows, he pops in the day before the telecast and we line up all the girls in alphabetical order behind microphones. And they say their name, age and country. Then we line them up in alphabetical order in one single file line across the stage. And he basically walks by and has an assistant that takes notes on all the girls. And it's just kind of common knowledge that he picks six of the top fifteen single-handedly. So, the other nine of the top fifteen are judged in a preliminary show the week before and picked by those judges, but he picks six of the top fifteen."

So, he's orchestrating at least a portion of the results? Right. And, his reason for doing so, as he told me and he's told the girls before, is that he left it all up to preliminary judging in the past and some of the most beautiful women, in his opinion, were not in the top fifteen and he was kind of upset about that. And he decided that he would pick a certain number and let the judges pick a certain number.

Read the whole interview (scroll way down for the Donald part) here.

Trump's personal judging round is not mentioned in the pageant rules.

HOW ARE THE SEMI-FINALISTS CHOSEN? In 1997, a dual-paneled judging system was introduced. One panel judges the preliminary rounds; the other panel judges the live telecast. All contestants are judged in three areas of preliminary competition which are not always televised due to time constraints: 1. Interviews - Judges spend time with each delegate to learn about her successes, goals and ambitions. 2. Swimsuit Competition - Each delegate wears one of a variety of swimsuit styles provided by a sponsor. 3. Evening Gown Competition - Each delegate wears a gown she has chosen for herself. All scores are tallied in each of the three categories. The contestants with the highest aggregate scores are named the semi-finalists. The competition is narrowed twice more to produce the winner.

Comments

[Mutande]

Rather than judges, I think there should be a general election to pick Miss America. Maybe she could be on the ballet with congress people every two years. But during the two year lead up to the vote, there could be primaries. And commercials. Sex tapes should not be a disqualifier unless it's proven that they were originally made only for personal reasons and not to gain attention to win votes. There should be two categories; Miss America, and Miss Virgin American, but you don't have to declare which category in which you fit. In the final year, there could be several Miss America reality shows, where the contestants get to demean each other and use the "f" word in it's many variations. Biting and kicking would also not be a disqualifier. There are so many ways to go with this. Maury Povich could M.C. Oh, and then there's the Miss Pregnant America...

[Budokan]

"I'm shocked to find gambling in this cafe!"

"Your winnings, sir."

[maori]

lol

[ElPerro]

Is it my imagination, or does that Miss Universe in the photo with Trump look like she's got a touch of the Down's?

[StacyJ]

Yes, it IS your imagination.

[enigma3535]

Misleading headline; Trump is only pre-selecting 40% of the finalists ... granted, the "purity" of the contest [now that is an ironical statement ] is lessened ... that said, its a show [which I have never watched] that is staged to make money, so I can understand what Trump is trying to accomplish.

[johnnygoodwud]

he and hef should be judges

[3dtrix]

What's the point of sponsoring a pageant if you don't get to pick the winner? AND pick of the litter...

[StacyJ]

Michael, you're fired !

[fuelie]

This is nothing new. He did the same thing in Las Vegas for the Miss USA Pageant. The favorite to win was axed by him in the preliminary top 15.

[sixyfivepercentwater]

Newflash: Phony rich guy with dustball on head picks phony beautiful girls with foobs.

[NoSandwiches]

Duh?

[itsmyparty]

I second that.

[CatsRule1]

So I guess they have to sleep with him, or at least, unhhh.... I almost threw up in my mouth....

[GoogleMaster]

Say it ain't so Donald (not that you did a bad job picking) but, say it ain't so. Donald.

[Chelsea-Lyn Rudder - Huffpost Blogger]

This is old news. The rules clearly state that the producers of the show will influence the selection of a portion of the finalists. The contestants and other pageant watchers are well aware. Check out my new piece http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chelsealyn-rudder/my-super-great-greek-boyf_b_273102.html

[Ohsherri]

What's the point of all this?

She's not really a true Miss America then.

She's just a girl who Doanld want to sleep with.

Donald doesn't see true beauty.

There is no Miss America folks.

[Winthorpe]

Yeah, especially since the Miss America pageant has nothing to do with this, and she's from Venezuela.

[sixyfivepercentwater]

With that kind of grasp of the facts, I bet you're disillusioned most of the time.

[noweknow]

Being Julia

[mikebarden]

The public gets Trumped again.